Monday, May 29, 2017

So basically not only do loads of motorbikes come over for TT, but now everyone is taking out their Lamborghini's! We were walking along this road in Douglas, near one of the roads that doubles as the course, and this lambo drives past us!! WOW! so neat! haha then about a minute later, it pulls up next to us and stops at the red light... we literally could have reached out and touched it! We started to walk REAL slow ;) haha but that just seems to be a normal experience for us here right now! nbd :)

Anyways! We have had a good, and very quick week. We have also had miracles happen. I am so grateful! We found a man, Glen. He is very prepared and willing to meet with us. He is from Pennsylvania, super country, and has had many experiences in his life that have humbled him. He believes in God, but has some anger in his heart towards him. We have been able to see him and teach him the restoration, and eagerly anticipate teaching him the plan of salvation on Tuesday. We also had another miracle with our investigator, Peter. He was going to drop us after our first lesson, but agreed to still meet for the second. As we taught him the plan of salvation, the spirit was strong. We were able to better establish expectations, and ask more questions. He has agreed to continue to meet with us, and we are so grateful for that. One other miracle happened this week. We were able to see a part member family in the ward, the Zivave family. They are from Zimbabwe, and are so nice. We taught them about treasuring the things that matter the most in our lives. We discussed how our families are a gift from God. As we taught them, their son, felix. who is 9 and not baptised yet. was listening intently. We had a chance to speak to the parents after the lesson, and they agreed to have us come and teach him the missionary lessons. The mom is really willing, but the father doesn't seem to be very excited about it all. He is a member, but it seems that he has some issues with the commandments, and his heart isn't very soft. We are so excited though and ready to begin working with them more!!

I am feeling so blessed to be here right now. This is such a unique experience to anyone anywhere, and I feel the trusted and blessed. I know that God is taking such good care of us over here. I love my companion, Sister Wamsley makes me laugh non stop. And she is really going to help me through this super odd transition coming soon.

BTW, yes we are both staying here this transfer! I will die on the Isle of Man! We were expecting that actually because tickets to get on and off the island cost an arm and a leg right now. Literally so much! So no worries! We are both super excited :)

I love you all, and hope you are enjoying the beginnings of summer!!

Tah for now!

Love

Sister Carter

pic: 1)this is what happens when you steal sister preston's ipad ha!

2,3) doing service at Bishop's farm. these tents are intense, huge, and for TT campers #glamping

Monday, May 22, 2017

Hiya lovelies!!Ah, so we are getting so geared up for TT, the bishop has a farm andhe wraps hay bails with black plastic to guard the walls along theroad and things for the race. We were walking down the lane to hisfarm, and saw the tractor wrapping them, and sister Wamsley goes, "hey they're wrapping the hailbaes!... bayhails?? No hay bails!!" Hahabless her!It's been a fabulous week, full of miracles. I feel a lot of hope andanticipation for all that this week ahead holds. We were able to teachveno again, and it went well. She keeps her commitments, and invitedher friend to come to the lesson- referrals from referrals!! Moreanswers to prayers, I can't believe it! Jill is not only friends withVeno, but also with a ward member, Joan, so we are just reallyexcited!A miracle from bus contacting happened too! The bus we were getting onto head back into Douglas was really busy, so I sat down by this man,and immediately made a comment about "what a busy bus, hey?" And itstarted a really good conversation. his name is Peter, and he used tomeet with the sisters, maybe 5 years ago. He said that the only reasonhe still considers himself agnostic is because he hasn't had aspiritual experience as of yet. He accepted a return appointment, andwe saw him the next day. We taught him the restoration, but alsospecifically promised him that as he takes the invitations we givehim, and does them with a sincere heart, he will have a spiritualexperience. He can develop a relationship with God, and know that Heexists. It was a very good lesson. Yay yay!! We will see him again onWednesday, so there ya go!One of my favourite moments was today. There is a sweet girl here Ithe ward, Erin. She is in hair school, and she asked us if on our pdaywe could come get our hair done. They need clients to pass offassessments. We agreed, and this really cute girl, jess, did my hair.At first we were having a really casual conversation, about life andplans, and hair school. Then she began asking about our missionarywork, and was amazed about what a wonderful experience it is. She wasintrigued, and felt the spirit as I talked about my family and desireto be with them forever. I was able to give her a card as we left, andpray she will one day want to learn more. She was so cute, and has twokids, and loves them so much. As we were talking, I just realised, Ilove these people so much. I am so blessed to be here. People are soamazing and so unique. We all have different lives, differentexperiences, and the gospel can bless each one of us in differentways. You truly never know the impact you have on others. I wasgrateful for a more causal time to share my testimony.We got in touch with Sam, and have an appointment to see him thisweek, and are looking forward to seeing Luke, another person wehaven't seen In Quite a while. We are really excited about this week.The final one of the transfer is always a good one. We will blow itout of the water. The Irish Sea hahaI love each one of you! Thanks for sharing with me about things goingon!! Life is a wonderful thing. We are so blessed to have this time.Enjoy each moment of it. Write down some things you are so verygrateful for.Hope you have all have a fab week!!!Love,Sister Carter

Just a few things! Happy Birthday Nash!! Holy cow, how is he three already? haha I seriously can't believe it! bless him! also, congratulations to Melissa on getting married!! AAAA!!! So exciting!! Congrats to Ethan for entering the mission field! and Congrats to Chad for being called to the blessed land of Detroit!! YOU WILL LOVE IT!!! aw man! Too crazy!!! I love all this crazy good news, it is blowing my mind!

In news from me here in the Isle of Man, not loads has changed. We are still moving forward and upward, working hard, and IT WAS SO SUNNY AND BEAUTIFUL ALL WEEK!!! #blessings

One incredible experience was when we got to meet again with our young friend, Sam. We asked him what his expectations were in meeting with us. He said, "you know, I'm not too sure. i feel that i want to really learn more about God, and this will give me more knowledge and guidance in my life. But you know, it was like 2 days before I met you both on the street, i had been thinking to myself, 'is it all real?' and it really feels like this is the answer that i hadn't expected at all."!!!!! We were trying to keep our composure, but were freaking out! Aw man, Sam is so prepared! haha we are excited to keep working with him!

There was a surprise birthday party for one of the members of the ward that was held at the fun barn this week (only the most happy and exciting places on the island, and also just happens to be the bishop's business, hollahhh!). We got to go, and it was such a fun event! There were so many people there, members and non members, and even some inactives! We were like, WOWOWOW!! This is the jackpot! haha we were so busy talking to eveyone, it was SO fun! Aw i love it! It really gave us a glimpse of where this ward can be, its potential. We both want to make a difference, and i have really felt that it will come through relying wholly upon the Lord, following the spirit, and working with the members. So that is what we have been doing! So far, so good!

I feel I have learned a lot this week. In particular, about repentance and desire. I have wondered if my nature has changed. (I know, selfish thoughts, sorry, but it turns outwards, i promise!) Especially if it had changed for the better. For this is what repentance truly is: changing our nature. I realised that the changes have been dramatic, but have happened over time. I have gone from a place where I had confidence in myself and my own abilities, to confidence in Christ. Confidence that He can make me more than I can of myself. Confidence that through His atonement I can do all things. This is also humility. Humbly accepting that I am weak, and that I must place my will in His hands. Even just a desire to change and repent can cause miracles to take place. I have such strong desire, and have changed from a selfish perspective and self centered desires, to selflessness and desires based on other's eternal progressoin. I have come to realise the joy that comes through repentance, and have desired to help others feel the same. Ah I wish so much that everyone could experience it!! I love my Saviour, Jesus Christ, who is truly also my Redeemer. I know that He not only paid the price for all of my sins, and weaknesses, but He provides the way for me to learn from them, to become SO much more. I love His gospel, and feel so grateful for it as I strive to apply it. I am weak, and so imperfect, but that is ok. This is the reason why He came to this earth. It is because we all are. I can find joy in this every day of my life. As can all these beautiful people around me! Including you all!! Helaman 5:12 has been going through my mind a lot this week. read it, and continue to build your foundation on Christ!

I love you all!!

Sister Carter

Helaman 5:12 And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.

Monday, May 1, 2017

Woohoo!!! It's may!! And literally you can feel it in the air, andthere is nothing better, I promise!This week has been smashing, and fast. Almost as fast as I anticipatethe TT to be. But we shall see.. anyways! Yes it was fab!We have had some updates on our investigators. Turns out Jin, the cuteChinese woman, is Buddhist. We got to teach her with the elders inLiverpool who speak Chinese. As she left, she wouldn't set a returnappointment, saying she had lots to think about.. I still feel shefelt the spirit as she was reading in the BOM. So we shall see, wewill call her this week. And the lesson with the Zivave family wasgood, but if you have any experience with keeping parents and smallchildren all involved, especially when it is like teaching them allfresh, please send them our way. There are definitely deeper concernsthere, but we are still working with them. Probably we will teach oneprinciple at a time. Lots of work to be done in Douglas, woot woot!Haha ah I love it here!The senior couple, the Karrens, were gone for the weekend in England,so when we went to church on Sunday we were like.. what the?!! Whereare our parents?! Bless them! They are so wonderful. They had a greattime exploring over there :)There are a few times each year that the tide is out far enough inDouglas that you can walk out to the tower of refuge. It is right inthe middle of the Douglas bay. So it was opened on Friday night! Wewere walking along the promenade, and there are loads of people all intheir wellies. At the same time, there is a cycling race for teensalong the prom, so there were just gobs of people!! Haha! Amissionary's dream hah! It helped though to get some conversationsstarted up, asking "hey, what's going on?! We are from America! Andhave no idea" *wink wink* haha no it was good. But it gave us a tasteof what it will be like this summer. Everyone has been telling us theisland is just going to explode with so many people, woohoo! So muchanticipation, I can hardly stand it!

We had a miracle, as we were heading to an appointment, we stoppedthis young man, Sam. As we explained a bit about who we are, what wedo, and how we teach about Christ, he started to open up. He told usabout how his mum had had the missionaries around a few years ago. Hementioned that he has a belief in something, but not sure what yet. Wemet with him again on Saturday, and had a super good lesson about therestoration of the gospel. He told us that he had a prayer answeredwhen he was younger as well, and felt much like Joseph smith!! He hasa sincere heart, and we are so excited to keep working with him! Youthare the best!!!I am seriously so excited it is may! I knew that as soon as this monthcame, the weather would change, and literally today the temperaturejumped like 10 degrees!!! Summer is coming, and I am overjoyed! Whenwas the last time I took off my jacket to go outside?!! I can't evenremember haha ahhhh yayayayayyyy!!! Our good friend, Sister Dobbie,took us out today to visit some beautiful places on the Isle of Man,and wooooowwww!!! I will send you some pictures! Most are from a placethey call the chasms, so pretty! I love nature! Hah!Anyways, it has been a good week, and things are still looking up! Here goes!!I love you all so much!Bye for now!Sister Carter

Who's she?

Welcome to my mission blog! I am so excited to be out here, and am grateful for all of your support! I am a sister missionary in the England Manchester Mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Things I love: family, food, card games, biking, hiking, anything soft, good smells, and LIFE! Enjoy!